Best of May 2025

The month of May was wonderful in the City of Calgary and surrounding area. We had hot HOT weather and lots of opportunities to be outside. On the May long weekend, I spent time in Banff, Alberta at Tunnel Mountain. That weekend provides a couple of my favourite pictures for the month. The first is of Rundle Mountain that was taken from Vermillion Lakes.

 

The second pictue was taken on my phone after walking away from the spot. I wanted to share right away instead of waiting until I got home. This picture was excellent to share and also made my favourite list.

The following picture of granaries on the Alberta prairies also gets a special mention. A good picture should tell a story, trigger an emotion or bring questions to mind. I think this picture makes me very curious and asks me to create a story. It might be better during harvest or during the growing season. Imagine what this would be like if they plant Canola. I hope I make it back.

This picture from Linden, Alberta is important to me because Maria and I spent our last three summers together camping in Linden. When she was able, she loved walking the path around the ponds and always had a sense of achievement when she made it up the hill.  Toward the end of May I spread some of her ashes around the campground and at the top of this hill. Such a wonderful view to trigger such wonderful memories.

There are two bird pictures from this month that make the favourite list. Both of a Yellow Warbler at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Such a pretty bird. 

All pictures photo-edited with On1 Photoraw 2025

Calgary's Singing Bridge; a lucky happenstance

This is a picture taken from the 12th Street East Bridge in Calgary, between the communities of Bridgeland and Inglewood. I included the west railing in the picture to show the wave from of the rails and the thin-flat shape of all but the top rail. 

According to Canadian Consulting Engineer; "This idea of softer edges was also applied to the pier caps and abutments, and gently flowing lines were shaped into the tear-drop pedestrian look outs. The bridge’s character, lines and colour palette echo other structures nearby, contributing to a common design language in the community." Nowhere can I find any reference to an a priori plan for the bridge to hum. Yet, when the breeze is just right and coming from the west, you can hear the rails hum as you cross the bridge on the pedestrian pathway. The "tear-drop" pedestrian look outs referred to above are a great place for photographers to move out of the way and take pictures of Calgary's skyline.

Happenstance or planned, it is a fun part of a walk. 

Nellie Irene (nee Reynolds) Jalland

In April I took a picture of a statue at Reader Rock Gardens and the Union Cemetery. This picture sparked some questions, and I thought I should put more context around this picture. It was a rainy/snowy morning and I thought the water droplets added to the picture. 

The above picture is part of statue. This is the whole statue. Art is like a Rorschach test. The feeling we have about the art tell more about us than about the art itself. 

When I see this statue, I think of an untold love story. This is Nellie Irene (nee Reynolds) Jalland. She was born in Regina, Saskatchewan and died in Calgary August 30, 1937. She was only 41 years of age and died after a lengthy illness. Her husband, in memory of Nellie, erected a marble statue. Unfortunately it was vandalized and later replaced with this bronze. I don't want to focus on the negative vandals, but on the immense love (Private) Cyril Vincent Jalland obviously felt for her. He lived until 1973: over 3 decades without his love. 

My feelings for this statue obviously reflect my past. I hope most peoples' feelings and personal stories are positive and maybe by thinking about Nellie her memory will live again. You can find out more about Nellie here.